CHICAGO, Illinois — Gen Z icon Ella Emhoff, step-daughter to Kamala Harris, got her public speaking debut on the final night of the Democratic National Convention. “Kamala came into my life when I was 14—famously a very easy time for a teenager,” Emhoff said, earning laughs. “Like a lot of young people, I didn’t always understand what I was feeling, but no matter what, Kamala was there for me. She was patient, caring, and always took me seriously. She’s never stopped listening to me, and she’s not going to stop listening to all of us.” Speaking alongside the vice president’s niece, Meena Harris, and her goddaughter, Helena Hudlin, Emhoff, 25, wore an off-the-shoulder pastel ensemble. Her low voice filled the hall for only a few seconds. But it wasn’t her first time sending a message; her fashionchoices and social mediaposts have already drawn plenty of attention. Emhoff’s father, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, voiced his pride in the trio’s performance immediately following their center stage appearance, posting on X: “Meena, Ella, and Helena, you make us so proud.”
